HOUSTON – A Mexican national and a U.S. citizen have been ordered to federal prison following their convictions of conspiracy for attempting to commit the kidnapping of a Houston man, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Julio Cesar Garcia-Longoria, a 42-year-old Mexican National from Nuevo Laredo, and Iraida Griselda Hernandez, 42, of Houston, pleaded guilty Oct. 12, 2018.

Today, U.S. District Judge David Hittner imposed a 175-month sentence for Garcia-Longoria, while Hernandez was ordered to serve 135 months to be followed by five years of supervised release. Not a U.S. citizen, Garcia-Longoria is expected to face deportation proceedings following his sentence.

Hernandez was also charged in an unrelated federal drug trafficking conspiracy involving the delivery of 7.5 kilograms of cocaine. She was also sentenced in that case today to another 135 months which was ordered to run concurrently.

Between Jan. 10-18, 2018, Garcia-Longoria enlisted the assistance of Hernandez in Houston to have a Houston man kidnaped in an effort to recoup a drug trafficking debt of up to $1.7 million. Authorities were alerted to the plot which he had participating in via cell phone from Monterrey, Mexico.

Hernandez gathered biographical information on the Houston man and identified his residence. Law enforcement contacted him and enlisted his assistance to thwart the plot. The victim agreed to pose for photos, appearing bound, which were then sent to Hernandez and Garcia-Longoria. 

The defendants made it clear the intended victim owed money to a drug cartel in Mexico and efforts should be made to extort money from the victim’s family. Garcia-Longoria stated that the victim should be killed if he tried to get away. He agreed to pay a total of between $8,000 and $10,000 for the job.  

Both will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Gallagher is prosecuting the case.